Niners retire Rice's number, beat Seahawks

Nov 20, 2006 - 12:20 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Mike Nolan was dressed for success on
the day that the San Francisco 49ers honored Jerry Rice.

With his coach roaming the sidelines decked out in a suit, Frank
Gore rushed for a franchise-record 212 yards to lead the 49ers
to a 20-14 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in a battle of NFC
West rivals.

Nolan conjured up memories of legendary Green Bay Packers coach
Vince Lombardi by donning a black suit to go along with a red
tie.

"I do want to make a point about that (the suit)," Nolan said.
"The reason I do it is to honor my Father (Dick) and the other
coaches that have done it before. I think it's a respectful
thing to do in the league. I really hope they allow me to
continue to do it."

Nolan's team looked just as sharp in building a 20-0 halftime
lead against the defending NFC champions.

At halftime, the Niners retired the No. 80 jersey of Rice, who
was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams and possesses dozens
of NFL records, including career receptions (1,549), receiving
yards (22,895) and receiving touchdowns (197). Many former
Niners greats were on hand, including quarterback Steve Young
and safety Ronnie Lott.

The Niners (5-5) nearly spoiled the celebration with a
mistake-filled second half before holding on to secure their
first three-game winning streak since 2002.

"Our goal at the beginning of the season was not to win just
five games," Nolan said. "We've won five, but that's not our
goal. We take them won at a time and we'll continue to do that.
It will always be about winning, it continues to be about
winning, and that's all the better. We talk about streaks. We've
got a three-game winning streak and we need to continue to
build on that."

San Francisco also pulled within a game of Seattle (6-4) for
first place in the NFC West.

Gore set the tone early, rushing for 130 yards in the first half
en route to surpassing Charlie Garner's franchise mark of 201
yards at Dallas on September 25, 2000.

"It felt good. O-line, fullback, wide receivers, they did a hell
of a job blocking up front and down the field," Gore said. "I'm
just happy. We worked hard all week at practice. We're on a
winning streak, three games in a row. We've just got to keep
playing."

Gore also lost a fumble with less than two minutes remaining
after the Niners stopped Shaun Alexander for a one-yard loss on
a 4th-and-1 play from the Seattle 37.

But two plays later, cornerback Walt Harris took Gore off the
hook by intercepting a pass by Seneca Wallace.

"Bottom line with the defense, when you get turnovers you do
fairly well," Harris said. "The momentum was definitely with us
and guys stepped up. It was good to have that on defense."

Returning after missing the last six games with a cracked bone
in his left foot, Alexander - the reigning MVP - was limited to
37 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

Wallace threw for two touchdowns but also was intercepted three
times for the Seahawks, who had an 11-game winning streak
against divisional foes stopped.

"I didn't play well enough for us to win the ballgame," said
Wallace, who could be headed back to the bench next week when
Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck returns from a knee injury. "The
picks were all my fault. The receivers got open, but I didn't
get them the ball. W e had opportunities in the second half, but
I couldn't take advantage."

"I thought we played a very poor first half of the football
game," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "The second half we
played better, but couldn't make up enough ground. I'm
disappointed in our energy, our tempo... everything in the first
half."

Wallace, who completed 19-of-31 yards for 252 yards, threw a
38-yard pass to Deion Branch less than three minutes into the
third quarter to pull the Seahawks within 20-7.

Branch finished with seven catches for 113 yards.

Wallace brought the Seahawks within 20-14 with 6:40 remaining
with a beautifully thrown 41-yard touchdown pass to Darrell
Jackson.

After Joe Nedney kicked a 39-yard field goal in the first
quarter, Alex Smith extended the margin to 10-0 with a nine-yard
TD pass to Arnaz Battle with 10:11 left in the second quarter.

"It felt good, a team like Seattle, who went to the Super Bowl
and is number one in our division, we manhandled them in the
first half," Battle said. "We missed a few points here and
there, but the defense played great, special teams came through,
and the offense moved the ball. We couldn't ask for a better
first half."

Smith also scored on a one-yard TD at the 4:14 mark to make it
17-0.

"We are a young team that is trying to find our identity. We
have been building our identity for the last three weeks," Smith
said. "To come off the Chicago game (41-0 loss) and put
together this little streak is a good sign. To beat last years
NFC champion is big for us."

It was an efficient performance for Smith, who completed
19-of-25 passes for 163 yards.

Nedney kicked an 18-yard field goal as time expired in the half.

The game featured a return to San Francisco for linebacker
Julian Peterson, who signed a seven-year contract worth $54
million with the Seahawks after spending his first six seasons
with the Niners.

Peterson, who had two tackles, heaped praise on Gore.

"I believe he's going to be one of the best backs in the league
in the next couple of years," Peterson said. "Gore finds
little holes and explodes through them. He takes advantage of
what the defense gives him. He makes a lot of big plays, and
you saw that today."